The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has taken an active interest in the Bali Process, of which this Workshop is an integral part, since its inception in 2002.
This interest has informed our work elsewhere in the international community, and many lessons have been learned. At the same time, we have linked the energy generated by the Bali Process to the growing concern with the treatment of victims of trafficking and smuggling of our member Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world.
It is because of this worldwide dimension that the International Federation has concluded that the time is now ripe for bringing back to this process some of the lessons we have learned about priorities for governments, international organisations, civil society and of course Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The most important lesson is that no single government or other organisation can address the challenges posed by trafficking and smuggling alone. It is not possible, for example, to work on the basis that the criminal law dimensions of trafficking and smuggling can be addressed without reference to the factors in both source and destination countries which have contributed to the growth of the phenomenon.
Nor is it possible to address the issues without recognising that trafficking involves gross violations of the rights and dignity of the people affected themselves.
These are issues which were squarely on the agenda of an international conference in response to human trafficking hosted by the Danish Red Cross in Copenhagen on 9 June.
That conference was attended by government and police representatives from a variety of European countries as well as international organisations, civil society, academics and of course Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
It affirmed the need for much stronger partnership between the different actors involved in dealing with trafficking, vulnerability and the distress which trafficking causes.
It also recognised the need for much stronger guidance and support for those actors, particularly at the community level.
As a result, the Danish Red Cross is now preparing a manual on good practices which will be a reference guide for creative and innovative action in response to human trafficking. It is our intention to have this publication ready in September 2005, and the International Federation will be glad to share it with participants in the Bali Process.
The reference guide, and international action including that of the Bali Process will also be valuable source material for the European Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies when they hold their next major regional conference, in Moscow in 2006.
We have spoken in earlier Bali Process meetings about the priority these challenges have obtained in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, with particular reference to our own Manila Action Plan adopted in 2002.
It is now clear that this driving priority will continue to build, and one of our challenges as an international organisation with world-wide and community-based membership is to fit the efforts of different regions and countries into a matrix which makes an effective contribution.
This is no easy task in the face of activities surrounding a $12 billion industry, but we believe that with strong and purpose-built partnerships a lot can be achieved.
We see partnerships as being best built if they take account of the mandates and concerns of all partners. This was part of the basic message delivered for the International Federation at the recent UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Bangkok.
At that Conference, our representative (the Deputy Secretary General of the Cambodian Red Cross) outlined policy approaches within what we call the 4 Ps. It is worth repeating this here, for the ideas behind this approach have also been outlined to the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna and to the Interpol Working Group on Trafficking in Women in Lyon.
The 4 Ps are
1. Prevention - meeting the needs of the vulnerable groups, and focusing on awareness raising on the realities for communities and individuals of trafficking.
2. Provision - providing support to victims for their psychological, mental and physical rehabilitation
3. Protection - victim protection and support are essential for humanitarian reasons
4. Public support - including political attention and public awareness.
These are areas of action which fit within the mandate of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. We urge all governments to consider, as part of their own action to combat trafficking, meeting their National Society representatives with a view to building partnerships towards these objectives.
It is our firm view, based on our community experience as well as our international connections, that no program can be successful unless it recognises these dimensions.
It is also important, of course, that governments take an holistic view of the legislative and other national needs that are within their scope. Trafficking involves many different aspects of government priority, and all must be integrated into the search for effective action.
It is not enough, for example, to believe that immigration control will stop trafficking. Immigration and visa action must be linked to other realities. Similarly, police action alone will not solve the problems, even if it is linked successfully across national borders.
Community-based action by civil society and the Red Cross/Red Crescent is not of itself a solution either.
Our concern is with the vulnerability of the people themselves, at all stages of their recruitment, movement and at their destination. But unless this vulnerability is recognised and addressed, and communities are brought to understand their nature, none of the government action which is contemplated can hope to succeed.
Chair, We believe that any National Action Plan should be based on a practical mechanism that underpins it.
In this context, we call for National Referral Mechanisms in place, a cooperative framework through which state actors fulfill their obligation to protect and promote the human rights of the trafficked persons in coordination and strategic partnership with the civil society and the Red Cross/Red Crescent.
Finally, we have noted in our work in Europe that the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is advocating the establishment in each country in that region of a position of national coordinator for trafficking issues.
We consider this an idea which has great potential for all countries, and are preparing to work with Dr Helga Konrad and the OSCE to help take it forward. We would be happy to work with Bali Process participants towards the same objective.
Our thanks go to the Government of Japan for arranging this valuable meeting, and to all involved in the Bali Process for the energy and dedication they have shown.
As I have already said, this is a subject of growing priority and concern for our national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies everywhere in the world, and we hope your example will be seen by other regions as one they can usefully follow.